There's not a whole lot going on right now. It's late December and we've had some below zero weather. About a month ago, before it really hit, I cut some 2 inch insulation for the bees and covered the hive. I cut a piece for the top too.
There have been a lot of die off bees at the hive entrance. I've also seen a lot of dead on the floor of the hive. But I can still hear the bees in the hive, so I think they are doing okay. I'm hoping for another really warm day so I can take a peek inside.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Scientists Discover Molecule Linking Neonicotinoids to Honey Bee Viruses
Italian scientists think they've found the molecule that links honey bee immune systems with pesticides . . . let's hope they're right.
http://www.nationofchange.org/scientists-discover-key-molecule-linking-neonicotinoids-honey-bee-viruses-1382712918
http://www.nationofchange.org/scientists-discover-key-molecule-linking-neonicotinoids-honey-bee-viruses-1382712918
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
First Harvest
At the NCBA Beginning Beekeeping Class, they cautioned us not to expect to harvest any honey our first year. I pulled out five heaping frames today. I am so excited, and so proud of the bees. It's been a great year for bees in Fort Collins.
I went up to Copoco's to get a gate valve and a food grade 5 gallon bucket, a scraper, and a a bucket filter. It's not worth renting/borrowing an extractor for just 5 frames, so I tried scratching open the supers and letting it drain out. But since it's September and already cooled off a bit, the honey isn't viscous enough to drain out. We've got loads of flies this time of year too, so I decided it was best to scrape out the comb and honey all together. It will destroy a lot of work by the bees, but I want the honey that badly.
The scrapped out honey and wax makes a lump that looks a bit like creamed corn. The golden honey drains out pretty quickly. After it was mostly drained I took the wax that was left and left it in a strainer overnight to let gravity do it's work. This separated some more honey, which I ran through the bucket filter to combine with the rest of the honey.
I got some half pint and jam jars (4 oz). It's one of the lightest honey's I've ever seen, nearly water white on the color grade. And it tastes AMAZING. I think because I don't have to over filter it or heat it (because I'm not planning on selling it at this point), the honey is very raw. And FRESH!! It was in the hive just a few hours ago and was capped in the last week or so. It's AWESOME!!
I wanted to start beekeeping because I know honey bees are in trouble. Being a gardener and someone who appreciates the earth, I want to help them. I really love being able to grow and preserve food for myself.
To keep bees is to see the hand of God. The more I work with them, the more they teach me.
I went up to Copoco's to get a gate valve and a food grade 5 gallon bucket, a scraper, and a a bucket filter. It's not worth renting/borrowing an extractor for just 5 frames, so I tried scratching open the supers and letting it drain out. But since it's September and already cooled off a bit, the honey isn't viscous enough to drain out. We've got loads of flies this time of year too, so I decided it was best to scrape out the comb and honey all together. It will destroy a lot of work by the bees, but I want the honey that badly.
The scrapped out honey and wax makes a lump that looks a bit like creamed corn. The golden honey drains out pretty quickly. After it was mostly drained I took the wax that was left and left it in a strainer overnight to let gravity do it's work. This separated some more honey, which I ran through the bucket filter to combine with the rest of the honey.
I got some half pint and jam jars (4 oz). It's one of the lightest honey's I've ever seen, nearly water white on the color grade. And it tastes AMAZING. I think because I don't have to over filter it or heat it (because I'm not planning on selling it at this point), the honey is very raw. And FRESH!! It was in the hive just a few hours ago and was capped in the last week or so. It's AWESOME!!
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| Levi & Rocket's Honey 2013 |
To keep bees is to see the hand of God. The more I work with them, the more they teach me.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Winterish
We've had a fairly cold week, and a few inches of snow. It's actually our first week with a hard freeze. I've been a bit concerned with the bees, and I haven't had a chance to do an inspection because it's been either too cold or very overcast.
Today I jumped at the chance to do an inspection when I heard it was in the 60's. Sure enough when I got out to the hive, the poor girls were crowded around the small opening of the entrance reducer. They're still working hard and coming back with loads of pollen. I pried out the entrance reducer before I got the smoker going just to give them a chance to unload.
The two top supers showed significant improvement. It's been at least two weeks since I moved the empties out and took off the third one. There's a lot of newly capped honey. It even looked like they were laying down more comb. And there's still a lot of uncapped nectar, which I don't want to take out of the hive, since I can't harvest it.
I wore a white suit today for the first time today. They seemed to be a lot more relaxed. I smoked them pretty good, but the white suit seemed to really help. I don't know if it's sting proof, but i suppose I'll find out sooner or later.
I wasn't able to get the frames out of the hive bodies. they are so caked with propolis, when i tried to pry them loose, it was actually the hive frame that cracked first. They seem really healthy. I looked down into the top hive body and it looked completely full of honey. I looked under the bottom hive body too, and it looked really clean too. I didn't separate them since I had no idea where the queen might be.
I'll have to do some more research, but I think they are looking good heading into winter. I'm planning to wrap the hive with some kind of insulation, perhaps styrofoam, to help them keep warm. I'm really pleased to see how well they are doing and so proud of their hard work. It's been a fantastic year to start beekeeping in the Rockies!
Today I jumped at the chance to do an inspection when I heard it was in the 60's. Sure enough when I got out to the hive, the poor girls were crowded around the small opening of the entrance reducer. They're still working hard and coming back with loads of pollen. I pried out the entrance reducer before I got the smoker going just to give them a chance to unload.
The two top supers showed significant improvement. It's been at least two weeks since I moved the empties out and took off the third one. There's a lot of newly capped honey. It even looked like they were laying down more comb. And there's still a lot of uncapped nectar, which I don't want to take out of the hive, since I can't harvest it.
I wore a white suit today for the first time today. They seemed to be a lot more relaxed. I smoked them pretty good, but the white suit seemed to really help. I don't know if it's sting proof, but i suppose I'll find out sooner or later.
I wasn't able to get the frames out of the hive bodies. they are so caked with propolis, when i tried to pry them loose, it was actually the hive frame that cracked first. They seem really healthy. I looked down into the top hive body and it looked completely full of honey. I looked under the bottom hive body too, and it looked really clean too. I didn't separate them since I had no idea where the queen might be.
I'll have to do some more research, but I think they are looking good heading into winter. I'm planning to wrap the hive with some kind of insulation, perhaps styrofoam, to help them keep warm. I'm really pleased to see how well they are doing and so proud of their hard work. It's been a fantastic year to start beekeeping in the Rockies!
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Rocket got one too
My dear sweet helper dog got a sting too! This was actually earlier this summer. I felt pretty bad for her when I noticed she had a swollen eyebrow. She's been a champ about it though!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Stinging Saga
Ahhhhhh! I got stung again today!
I was just out looking through the supers. I wanted to get out the empties that I'd put in for the girls to clean up after the harvest. It was late, and dark, but I went out anyway. I started reorganizing, and was able to clear out a whole super's worth of empties, or at least frames without comb drawn out. But the girls were not in a very good mood.
I could hear the guard bee swarming me, and they were crawling on my veil. Actually, I had two inside the helmet. So I ran off and was able to pull it off before I got stung. I shook them out and put everything back on since I still had to put the hive back together.
I went back over and the bees were definitely mad. I put the supers back on and could hear another bee very close. It had gotten quite dark, so I could barely see her crawling on the front of my veil. I tried to brush her away and then froze, realizing I might have a third bee inside my hood. Sure enough, when she got to the white veil seam she walked OVER it . . . meaning she was inside. I bolted, but struggled with the knot so I couldn't get it off. I felt her bump my face just below my eye and then the sharp burn.
I knew it was going to be bad because it was centered in the soft tissue just below my lower eyelid. Ahhhh! Having already seen some beekeeper face stings, I knew it was bad bad news. I raced in and pulled the stinger out in a matter of seconds. Pinched and rinsed, washed my face and took some benadryl.
I was pissed.
I went outside and put the helmet on AGAIN. I put the inner cover and top cover and the brick back on as fast as I could and put away all my gear. I got an ice cube and laid on the couch.
I was just out looking through the supers. I wanted to get out the empties that I'd put in for the girls to clean up after the harvest. It was late, and dark, but I went out anyway. I started reorganizing, and was able to clear out a whole super's worth of empties, or at least frames without comb drawn out. But the girls were not in a very good mood.
I could hear the guard bee swarming me, and they were crawling on my veil. Actually, I had two inside the helmet. So I ran off and was able to pull it off before I got stung. I shook them out and put everything back on since I still had to put the hive back together.
I went back over and the bees were definitely mad. I put the supers back on and could hear another bee very close. It had gotten quite dark, so I could barely see her crawling on the front of my veil. I tried to brush her away and then froze, realizing I might have a third bee inside my hood. Sure enough, when she got to the white veil seam she walked OVER it . . . meaning she was inside. I bolted, but struggled with the knot so I couldn't get it off. I felt her bump my face just below my eye and then the sharp burn.
I knew it was going to be bad because it was centered in the soft tissue just below my lower eyelid. Ahhhh! Having already seen some beekeeper face stings, I knew it was bad bad news. I raced in and pulled the stinger out in a matter of seconds. Pinched and rinsed, washed my face and took some benadryl.
I was pissed.
I went outside and put the helmet on AGAIN. I put the inner cover and top cover and the brick back on as fast as I could and put away all my gear. I got an ice cube and laid on the couch.
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| My latest sting at about 30 minutes . . . still smiling |
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| Still smiling 4 hours after a bee sting to the face |
By the time I went to bed, my eye was nearly swollen shut, and I was realizing I was having another bad reaction. My breathing was fine, and it was hot, but not especially painful. So I took two more benadryl and ibuprofen, and was quickly asleep.
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| Swelling 12 hours after being stung in the face by a bee |
When I did finally wake up, the mirror confirmed for me that benadryl isn't strong enough for any of my allergies. My eye was completely swollen shut. The skin hurt from being stretched so tight, and it was hot. Awesome. It's not like you can call into work and say "I got a bug bite and won't be in today." So I took a shower and a double dose of Zyrtec and went.
I was actually pretty amazed that people that aren't in my department don't really look at you in the face when you pass them in the hall, so no one . . . no one . . . said anything in passing. However, the people who do look me in the eyes were all shocked. I looked bad enough that people didn't give me a hard time, they were actually very compassionate and concerned for me.
I was grateful that I really didn't feel that bad . . . aside from having a fat head. I took another double dose of Zyrtec (4x for the day) but it didn't really seem to help either.
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| 24 hours after being stung in the face by a bee |
This warped smile was 24 hours after the sting. It was beginning to really itch as the swelling went down and I started to get some feeling back.
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| Bee sting at 36 hours |
The next morning I looked worse again. I think being laid down was the biggest factor. I decided to double up on Allegra to see if it would help. It's the most effective for my grass allergies. And more ibuprophen.
I don't mind the stings so much, and the swelling isn't even that bad. It's that it takes 3 or 4 days for me to get back to normal.
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| Still swollen at 60 hours |
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| 4 days and still a bit swollen |
So I guess the moral of the story is to be sure you don't have any open folds in the back of your veil. I'm pretty sure that's where they were coming in from. I need to figure out how to tie it tighter or perhaps wear my coat over it.
That and it's probably time for me to get an epipen. This definitely isn't anaphylactic shock, but I do react much worse than most people. I can see how multiple stings or a freak sting inside the mouth or throat could put me in really dire shape. Better safe than sorry.
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